S1E80 - More Americans Killed By Cows Than Illegal Border Crossers: A Conversation With Pundit Marc Sandalow

Veteran political analyst and Associate Director of The Washington Center Marc Sandalow joined us for a rich and wide ranging conversation about the political landscape -- starting with the ongoing trial of Donald Trump and proceeding to questions about who will and will not turn out to vote in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Marc spoke of his UC Berkeley student's dissatisfaction with both President Biden and former President Trump and citizen perceptions of aging in the two as well as the liability to President Biden of Vice President Kamala Harris being his likely running mate. We also discussed the third party candidacy of Robert F Kennedy Jr and the historic role of third party candidates and touched on the electoral college, the Black vote and the efficacy of polls. The dialogue then pivoted to immigration with Marc expressing the view of illegal/undocumented immigrants being demonized and scapegoated for political purposes as responsible for high incidences of murder, rape and other violent crimes. Terrorists may be entering the U.S. illegally, Marc conceded, but for the present, he declared, more Americans are killed by cows. More illegal/undocumented immigrants, he pointed out, are coming into the U.S. and more fentanyl also is, but crime is continuing to go down and illegals/undocumenteds generally do not illegally vote. Marc spoke of how playing up the fearsome dangers of big cities also plays well politically. He discussed presidential immunity, bipartisanship, today's social media, journalism, rank choice voting, national security and the Chinese and their ownership of TikTok. A master class on civics and politics by a seasoned journalist, political analyst and university teacher!

Biography

Marc Sandalow is a senior faculty member at the University of California’s Washington Program where he teaches about politics and the media. He is the author of three books, including “Madam Speaker,’’ a biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He has worked as a journalist for four decades, including 21 years at the San Franisco Chronicle, the last 10 as the paper’s Washington Bureau Chief. He is currently a political analyst for KCBS-radio, Hearst Television, and writes a regular column for the San Francisco Examiner.

Conversation recorded on April 26, 2024.